Artist of The Week: Nina Nesbitt

ANDPOP wants to help you stun your family and friends with your utterly amazing musical taste. ANDPOP’s Gabriella Zicarelli will profile a new musical act for you to enjoy on a weekly basis. This week, our focus is on singer/songwriter, Nina Nesbitt.

Ever since she picked up a guitar at 15, singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt knew she belonged in the music world. And with a video camera and a few instruments, she then decided to make her mark by uploading videos performing songs onto YouTube. These early videos quickly won over a small audience, racking up over 20 million views and a fanbase who proudly call themselves Nesbians.

Nina’s career didn’t get the push it needed until our favourite ginger guitar-strumming singer, Ed Sheeran, did a radio performance in her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. What began with the then-16-year-old simply asking Ed for advice, ended with her playing an original tune for him with his guitar. He was so impressed by her skills that he offered her the opportunity to open for him during his European tour. She would also later appear in his music video for “Drunk.”

Following her tour with Ed, she then won over British electronic rapper Example after he heard her take on his hit, “Stay Awake.” Loving what he heard, he offered her another gig: as his opener on his 2012 U.K. arena tour.

Nina released her second EP, The Apple Tree, and her first single, “Boy,” in 2012. In the following year, she released her breakthrough single, “Stay Out,” which landed at #21 on the U.K. singles chart. Now 19, she dropped her first full-length album, Peroxide, earlier this year.

From her stripped down acoustic ballads, to her more upbeat, pop-infused tunes (like her recent single “Selfies”), Nina’s music offers the perfect balance between emotionally charged break-up ballads that pull at your heart-strings and songs that make you want to get up and dance.

Whether it’s her stunning vocals and song-writing chops or her impeccable fashion sense, it’s not hard to fall in love with this new U.K. export and her adorable geeky personality.

THE ESSENTIALS

SOURCE: Let’s Be High on Tumblr

Name: Nina Nesbitt

Known For: Her raw emotionally-fueled acoustic sound.

File Next To: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran

Download Now: “Selfies”

RAPID FIRE FACTS

1. Nina was born July 11, 1994 in Endinburgh, Scotland and is half Swedish

2. She plays the guitar, piano and flute

3. She has a cat named Bob Marley

4. Before getting into music, Nina was a model

OTHER NOTEWORTHY TUNES

“Stay Out”

“Just Before Goodbye”

“Way In the World”

Gabriella Zicarelli is awkward, a lover of music and British comedy. She's a shopping enthusiast, book nerd and speaks fluent sarcasm. Twitter: @GabsElisa